Living in the Past
by Face of Poe
Summary: Jaina volunteers for a simple, routine mission away from the Academy- and in the process, stumbles across an old ship that holds more than a few surprises. Set in between Young Jedi Knights and New Jedi Order.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, nothing is mine. Just toys of LucasFilms and the like with which I enjoy playing…

**Summary**: On a routine mission for the Jedi Academy, Jaina stumbles across and old ship and with it comes a few surprises…

**Setting**: Pre- NJO, but soon before- Jaina at 15 or 16

**Characters**: Primarily Jaina with supporting roles from other Solos/Luke/etc, some R2D2, some Gilad Pellaeon, and some OCs.

**Rating**: PG-13/K+

**A/N:** This is an eight-part story and- best of all- already written! So I'll be posting a chapter a day or so. :-)

**Chapter 1**

A plague was killing an alien species.

The planet of Velmor was remote- about midway between Yavin IV and the Deep Core, it was also situated about midway between the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route- and therefore, not easily accessible from either. It sat in a close cluster of other planetary systems that made hyperspace travel tricky at best. And that's the way the Velmoc enjoyed it, at least until a sudden influx of thousands of Alderaanian survivors put it on the radar once more.

The population of the sparsely inhabited planet rocketed in the few years following the destruction of Alderaan and the Death Star, giving humans a vast majority over the native Velmoc, who only numbered around three thousand.

And now the Velmoc were dying, and the humans could not figure out why.

The New Republic's best scientists worked on the matter as the numbers of the Velmoc dwindled slowly but steadily. Tests were run, samples taken, and little headway could be made. As a last resort, Jedi Master and healer, Cilghal was summoned and for another week, the team remained stumped- until Cilghal made an astonishing discovery.

Of the ten experts sent by the New Republic, five were human; of the five humans, four had come down with colds while working on the project. A last test was run, and the results were unbelievable.

They had tested for exotic disorders and diseases, researched the history of the Velmoc to try to gain any insight into the epidemic; but the answer itself was devastatingly simple.

The Velmoc were dying of the common cold.

It was a human illness, and had been for millennia; however, a slight mutation of the virus and a species jump were wreaking havoc on a species that had no acquired immunity.

Most of the scientists returned to Coruscant to begin the hasty development of both a medication tailored to the Velmoc as well as an immunity-booster for future such incidents. Cilghal contacted the Jedi Praxeum to inform Master Skywalker of the findings of the crew- and to request that he send a courier with as many anti-viral doses as could be spared.

It did not sound like a particularly exciting mission- a twelve hour hyperspace jump in each direction, little chance of complications… and so Jaina Solo was surprised to hear herself volunteer to go.

Luke looked mildly surprised at the offer, though not as surprised as Jaina felt, and she wondered if it weren't some prodding in the Force telling her she should be the one.

"Maybe I should talk to Han and Leia…"

Jaina sighed. "If my mother weren't your sister and you weren't terrified of my father, would you even bother?" He looked briefly guilty and smiled ruefully. "If I were any other student here…"

"Except Jacen."

"Except Jacen," she conceded.

"Or Lowie."

"Right."

"Or Tenel Ka."

"Okay!" she held up a hand, torn between frustration and amusement. "The point is that this is what Jedi are supposed to do, right? Help people in need? And I _know_ I'm not a full Jedi yet," she cut off his argument immediately. "But I'll be apprenticed soon, which means I won't even be at the academy anymore most of the time, and mom and dad won't be able to keep a constant watch on me."

Luke nodded. "But you will be with a full-fledged knight or master."

She shrugged. "Cilghal will be there. I just feel- I'm not sure," she sighed heavily. "Maybe it's just boredom talking, maybe I just want to mix things up a little. But I feel like I should go."

Her uncle studied her carefully for a minute before smiling. "Alright," he agreed. "But I want you to take the _Shadow Chaser_. And Artoo." He held up a hand to stop her reply. "And I _am_ going to inform your parents that you volunteered for this, but I won't _ask_ their permission. Deal?"

And so it was that Jaina found herself lifting off from Yavin IV in the _Shadow Chaser_, watching the temple shrink into a smaller and smaller speck on the moon's surface. "Artoo?" she called back to him softly once the ship entered hyperspace, "can you upload to the ship's computer all the data files on Velmor you downloaded from the archives?"

He trundled up to the cockpit and connected to the terminal in the jack behind the co-pilot's chair, tweetling a quick response. Jaina perused the basics of the planet's history and demography, and found a briefing from Cilghal on the current situation. Once she felt she'd taken in what she needed, she settled in for some meditative time, wondering what- if anything- awaited her on Velmor.

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

She was mildly disappointed.

Everything went smoothly; the supplies were loaded into a cargo hauler speeder and a driver was paid to follow it, taking Jaina to the med center where Cilghal was tending the dozens of patients as best she could. She was glad to help out, and it was interesting enough as Cilghal explained to her (in layman's terms as much as possible) what had happened from a medical standpoint and how she was trying to use her healing abilities to counteract it until the New Republic's scientists found a more lasting solution.

But she found no reason that she might have been _called_ to Velmor in the Force. Nothing drew her attention, there was no twinge in her mind suggesting she go somewhere, or do something specific. Cilghal noticed her distraction.

"It did strike me strange that you would volunteer for a dull delivery such as this," Cilghal's head twitched in amusement- as least, that's how Jaina interpreted it, by no means an expert in Mon Cal body language. "But perhaps it is not the Force that calls you- you know that Velmor was largely settled by Alderaanian refugees? Perhaps some lingering interest in the culture where your mother grew up…?"

But Jaina didn't think that was it. Sure, the city was beautiful, and she recognized some of the architectural styles from old holo-docs about Alderaan; but the planet was dull in comparison, nothing like the beautiful world where her mother grew up with her foster parents. Nevertheless, she explored the city for a few hours before returning to her uncle's well-armored ship and preparing to make the half-day jump back to Yavin.

"Uncle Luke?" she reached him on the transceiver. "Just letting you know that I'm preparing to head out from Velmor; you should be able to expect me in just over twelve standard hours."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Jaina got her approval signal from hangar control and began her ascent. "No," she murmured. "Nothing here calls to me, I don't know where the feeling came from." The truth was, she still felt it, tickling the back of her mind like something she knew she'd forgotten but just couldn't quite remember.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Jaina; maybe it will be revealed in time, as Cilghal treats the Velmoc."

"Maybe."

"Fly safe, Jaina, we'll see you soon."

She shut down the comm and continued her climb through Velmor's atmosphere. She was nearing the point where she'd be able to start calculating her hyperspace jump when an alarm sounded on her control board; there were a few dozen ships incoming. Indeed, as she looking out the transparisteel viewport, she could see some beginning to revert to realspace in the distance.

"_Shadow Chaser_," a new voice interrupted her confusion, "this is Velmor space defense; a flotilla of aggressor vessels from Thisspias are approaching. We strongly recommend that you return to the planet before the defense shield is enacted in two standard minutes.

"Defense," Jaina replied, "I'll be hyperspace ready in less time than that, but thanks for the heads up; do you need any help?"

There was a brief silence. "Copy and negative, _Shadow Chaser_; the shield will be sufficient. See that you're well clear before the shield goes up, it _will_ scramble your sensors."

"Copy, Defense. _Shadow Chaser _out." She watched the ships quickly approaching, but still several thousand kilometers out. "Artoo, when will we be ready to jump?" His reply scrolled across her screen and she grew worried for the first time. "They're jamming us?" she asked, frowning. "We still have the capability, right? Just not the means of calculation?"

It was too late to return to the planet; she'd certainly fry the vehicle trying to reenter as they enabled their planetary defenses. "Alright," she stretched out in the Force. "We do a fast, random jump, get our bearings, and adjust." Artoo asked something about flying down a black hole. "Hey!" she was indignant. "Jedi, remember?"

His response seemed akin to an electronic eye-roll, and Jaina suspected that he'd heard that line from Luke one too many times over the years. "Okay," she muttered, feeling a pull, entering coordinates for a random point beyond the system but not far enough to risk flying through another star. "Ready- mark."

Stars streaked into white lines; Artoo whistled a worried tune. Fifteen seconds later, she reverted.

The proximity alarms sounded; Artoo let out an alarmed shriek. Jaina's hands flew over the console, checking sensor readouts, making sure everything else was okay before checking the reading- but when she did, she was astonished.

She was in deep space; no system around for several light years- and she'd managed to come out of hyperspace practically on top of another ship, a lone vessel that, the longer Jaina stared at it, the older and more decrepit it looked.

A twinge of excitement started in her stomach. "Artoo," she breathed, "what is that?" She checked his answer.

An Imperial Transport, from the Rebellion era.

Jaina whistled. "What do you think it's doing way out here? Can you pick up any damage reports? It must have been abandoned, I can't image anyone is still using that floating scrap-yard…"

That's when the tractor-beam caught her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Still doesn't belong to me. :-(**

**Chapter 2**

She fought the instinctual response to panic; that would be very un-Jedi of her, and wouldn't solve anything. Remembering her parents' and uncle's story about being pulled aboard the Death Star, it really wasn't hard to imagine that this could be worse.

The first step was to stretch out in the Force, see if she couldn't ascertain anything about the approaching situation; forcibly relaxing, she did just that, and felt her mind brush over a handful of sentient beings. It was difficult to say how many, but she was certain it was less than ten.

To her great surprise, Jaina did not sense any danger about her situation, now that she was calmed enough to analyze it more thoroughly. Her capabilities of reading people, given the distance and unfamiliarity, were limited at best- undoubtedly her Uncle Luke could do a much better job- but she caught the flickering of various emotions and none of them were hostility.

The foremost sense she picked up on from the old transport was anticipation, tinged with excitement; beyond that, various levels of hesitancy and more than a little fear… or perhaps just nervousness.

Trusting in her senses and knowing that there was little she could do otherwise, she started the landing sequence and then used her next two minutes wisely. "Artoo, come with me." She led him back to the cargo hold and found an open storage compartment. Quickly unclipping her lightsaber from her belt, she held it out and placed it inside the small chamber on the top of the droid's dome.

She had learned enough from her father over the years to know that one should never give away too much of their hand when there were still so many unknowns in the equation.

Hastily searching the storage bins of spare parts and equipment in the galley, she found what she was looking for and tucked it safely on a shelf in the compartment in the cargo hold. "Get in here, Artoo," she gestured to the open space. He trundled in, whistling a bit mournfully. "Stop that," she admonished. "Everything's fine. I just want to have a couple of tricks up my sleeve- just in case." He fit snugly in the compartment. "Lock yourself in," she ordered.

Once she was sure he had done so, she turned and sped towards the cockpit again, arriving in time to see the _Shadow Chaser_ about to enter the small, but adequately-sized docking bay on the transport vessel. She fastened her utility belt around the waist of her brown flightsuit- including a hip holster and blaster- and prepared the rest of the shutdown procedure.

While waiting for the atmosphere stabilizers to readjust, Jaina took a few calming breaths. When the pressure seals unlocked, she felt two presences enter the hangar and an unbidden knot of nervousness twisted in her stomach. She tried to soothe it away as she stood shakily and headed for the hatch.

Double-checking that her blaster was handy- and set for stun, should she actually need it- she took another deep breath and pressed the button to release the seal, open the hatch, and extend the ramp. She was halfway down when she saw the two men striding slowly towards her, and she felt a mixture of the same emotions running through the Force, but with another present now too- awe.

One of the men- the one who seemed in charge, she thought- kept his expression schooled and his gaze focused on her. The other was staring up at the _Shadow Chaser_ in fascination, and she frowned slightly. Sure, the quantum-crystalline armor was state-of-the-art, but it shouldn't have been that awe-inspiring to someone in the Imperial navy…

That's when she really looked at them. Sure, they were dressed in uniform, but something was definitely off.

Their uniforms were of a design that had been retired before she was born.

Before she could ponder this enigma too carefully, the men stopped several meters from her, as though unwilling to frighten her by coming too close. She strode a few more paces forward, making up some of the distance, but waited for someone to speak first.

The captain in charge spoke. "I sincerely apologize for our rude introduction," he said smoothly, "but we lack comm capabilities and it was vital that we contact you."

Jaina nodded slowly, taking in what details she could from the exchange.

The man smiled apologetically. "You are, understandably, confused. Let me introduce myself; I am Captain Gentyne, this is my deck officer, Lieutenant Bylsivik. And… are you alone?" he asked uncertainly, seeming to take in just how young she was.

"Yes," she said, striding forward and offering her hand. "My name is Jaina." She did not volunteer a last name, but neither seemed bothered by this. "And, begging your pardon but… you seem a little old to still be a deck officer, Lieutenant Bylsivik." Her voice was wry and the two men blinked and chuckled.

"Right you are," Bylsivik said, his voice low and serious, despite the mirth in his expression. "Perhaps you would accompany us to a more comfortable setting so that we might explain who we are, why we're here, and why we've so rudely dragged you aboard."

Briefly, she pondered demanding that they do so aboard her ship; but she sensed no hostile intent still, so she nodded. "Lead the way."

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene .

They sat in a conference room of sorts. A sense of curiosity was permeating the ship, as well as a barely suppressed excitement that put Jaina on edge, even if she did not feel in harm's way.

"That is a very impressive shuttle you're flying," Bylsivik started casually. "Is it a new model?"

Jaina frowned. The design was distinctly Imperial in its origins, even if the armor and plating were decidedly novel. "Relatively," she replied slowly. "It's a few years old…"

Gentyne laughed softly. "Now, now Montif, let's give the girl something of an explanation before we start our own annoying questions." He turned and faced Jaina, face grave. "Jaina- you undoubtedly noticed how damaged- and old- this vessel is," he said questioningly.

"I… yes, I did… Rebellion era at least, I thought it was abandoned when I first saw it."

Gentyne shot a wry look at Bylsivik. "_Era_," he repeated. "You hear that, Montif? We're from an _era_." He turned to Jaina again. "You're quite right, of course. This ship was top design of its day, and its maiden voyage was… oh, around twenty-four years ago now."

"Twenty four standard years, seven months, twelve days," Bylsivik supplied automatically, and Gentyne grinned.

"Great how he can do that, isn't it? Anyway, the point is, its maiden voyage was also its only voyage."

Jaina frowned again. "I don't understand."

Gentyne smiled sadly. "You've seen the damage to the hull, probably better than we have. Our task was accomplished and we prepared to make the jump to hyperspace- and at the precise moment we began the jump, the ship suffered heavy impact and sensor damage, gravitic field readings scrambled… but it was too late. We were committed."

"What happened?"

Bylsivik shrugged, picking up the story. "Our hyperdrive coolant was leaking, the motivator damaged… we were dumped somewhere at random when the drive could handle no more. It would not have been necessarily a critical situation, had our subspace transceiver not have met the same fate as the motivator."

Jaina stared, pieces beginning to slowly- and horrifyingly- click into place. An old ship, outdated uniforms, men too old to still have the rank they did…

"You've been stranded in deep space for almost _twenty-five years_?" she demanded, losing her calm veneer. "That's not… I don't… how have you survived?"

"Ah," Gentyne stood, motioning the other two to do the same. "Do you know the purpose of an armored transport vessel?"

"Sure," Jaina said, confused, "carrying small numbers of troops, up to two dozen, designed to operate with minimal crew…"

The two men looked at each other, apparently impressed with her knowledge of archaic ships. "Indeed. Well this particular vessel was never meant to hold troops." He led her across a corridor and opened a hatch, revealing a large space that would normally have been designed to carry body armor, equipment, and weapons, not the mention the soldiers themselves. Instead, however, was a storage hold of space rations. "It was designed to be habitable for a long time."

Jaina walked in, amazed; she saw boxes and boxes of hydration tablets, nutri-pills, carbon-frozen and reduced meals… simple and dull fare, certainly, but enough to keep one person alive for many years.

But there were more than one person here. "You're almost out," she ascertained, judging that, from the number of presences she could feel and the size of the room, it had been chocked full once.

"Yes," Gentyne nodded. "We've rationed and been very diligent for a quarter century, but survival desperation can only get you so far. At first, we held out hope while we attempted repairs and hoped that somehow, someone might have been able to track our jump- but our mission was secretive, and the person who sent us on it probably thought we were destroyed in the blast."

"What blast?" Jaina shook her head, trying to clear it from the amazed fog that had overwhelmed her. "How was the ship crippled?"

She was still so intent on the storage room that she did not sense the approach of a third person.

"_Tarkin_," the man spat, and Jaina turned. The man was old- very old. His skin was wrinkled and he walked slowly, but his eyes were sharp and shone brightly in his outrage.

Gentyne nodded at the newcomer. "Perhaps we should start from the beginning…"

"Wait," Jaina's eyes were intent on the old man as the sensation in the Force intensified for an instant. There was something about him… "You said Tarkin," she prompted. "Wilhuff Tarkin?"

"The same murdering coward."

Some pieces were beginning to fall into place and Jaina couldn't decide if she was more hopeful that her conclusion was right or that it was wrong. "You were damaged when Alderaan was destroyed, weren't you?"

A brief flicker of pain flowed through her mind. "Yes," Bylsivik murmured softly.

"But… why wouldn't the Empire clear out its own personnel before...?" but he said it was a secret mission…

"They didn't know we were there," Gentyne reminded her gently. "We landed and took off from the far side of the planet and used the land mass to mask our presence. Those were our orders."

Orders… "From who?"

"A close friend of mine from the Imperial Academy," Gentyne looked briefly wistful. "A captain named Pellaeon."

Jaina started. "I know him… I mean, I know of him," she corrected carefully. "Why would he send you to Alderaan in a ship that had enough rations to feed an entire army for a year?"

"He anticipated the possibility that at least some of those on the ship would be on the run from the Empire for a long time."

"Why?" Jaina breathed. "What did he send you to do?"

Gentyne considered her a moment before answering. "Pellaeon heard rumors of Tarkin's intentions, and he had a deep respect for the Alderaanian Viceroy and his late wife, the queen, as well as their daughter, who was an up and coming senator; I was closer, in Kuat. He arranged for the ship to be outfitted in this peculiar manner and asked if I could assemble a small crew whom I trusted- and he sent us to try to recover the Viceroy before Tarkin could carry out his plans."

Time did a funny thing where it seemed to freeze and speed up, all at once.

"And did you succeed?" her voice was low and shaky.

A gruff laugh rang out from across the room. Jaina turned slowly, almost fearfully back to the old man. "If you call this success."

And Jaina knew exactly who she was looking at and why the Force had brought her here.

**A/N: Thanks for continuing to read… hope you're still intrigued! ;-)**

**More soon,**

***~Lexi~***


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **As much as it pains me to admit… nothing belongs to me. Still. :P

**A/N: **So has anyone else noticed ff net being a little screwy the last couple days…?

**Chapter 3**

_Hey, mom… you know how you've thought your dad was dead for twenty-five years…?_

_So, uh, mom… I went on a routine supply run and stumbled across your father, who has been stranded in deep space for the last quarter century…_

_The funny thing about the Force, mom…_

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene . scene. Scene. Scene.

Leia Organa Solo jolted upright at the table where she was having a casual lunch with her husband, mind reeling from a sensation that wasn't her own.

"What is it?" Han frowned, looking around as though expecting to see something that had startled her.

"It's Jaina…" she replied automatically, still not entirely sure what had just happened. "No, she's fine," she put a restraining hand on Han's arm as he started to stand in alarm. "I just felt something… surprise, I think but she's not in trouble…"

"For once."

"It was strange though," Leia tried to capture the feeling before it completely departed. "Like the surprise had to do with me, but she wasn't intentionally trying to reach out to me…"

Han looked worried, despite Leia's assurances. "She _is_ on a mission to Velmor," he said unsurely. "Maybe there was something that reminded her of you? Or someone? Maybe you're in a nice museum of Alderaanian notables in history…"

Leia rolled her eyes but smiled and checked her chrono. "It's early on Yavin," she commented idly. "I'll wait and comm Luke in a few hours, see if he's heard from her; I'd hate to cramp her style on her first big solo mission…"

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

"Jaina?"

She was jolted out of her thoughts and found herself still staring into the wrinkled face of the man who could only be Bail Organa. Shaking herself slightly, she turned back towards Gentyne and Bylsivik; at the same time, she felt a light touch on her mind that she recognized as her brother, Jacen, who clearly felt her shock even from a couple hundred light years away. Sending reassuring thoughts his way, she put on a shaky smile. "Sorry, it's just… a lot to take in."

Somehow, she suspected that if she blurted out that she was his granddaughter, Bail Organa might have a heart attack on the spot.

"Certainly," the captain smiled down at her. "And undoubtedly the galaxy is in a much different place today than when we left it… which probably doesn't help." There was a questioning tone to his voice, laced with what Jaina thought was hopefulness.

If she'd been in the Imperial navy at the time of the Emperor's command, she'd probably hope for something better too. "Indeed," she recovered smoothly. "A lot has happened since you were stranded. Perhaps it would be best if I covered the finer points to everyone aboard at once though…?" The two officers blinked at her and she realized she'd mis-stepped. "I mean," she backtracked, "I assume that when you said you assembled a crew, you meant more than Lieutenant Bylsivik here…?"

"Of course," Gentyne said. "We started out with eight, plus the Viceroy here and two Noghri- they were to act as bodyguards when we established a suitable safe-house," he answered Jaina's curious look. "The crew has dwindled to five in the meantime." He knew her next question and answered it without prompting. "One died of natural causes; the other two shot themselves."

"That's terrible," Jaina shuddered, imagining the despair they all must have felt.

"Yes and no," Gentyne returned seriously. "I won't deny that this has been a miserable existence, and I cannot blame those young men for wishing to escape it while the rest of us have clung to what seemed a fool's hope that somehow we would make it back to civilization." He regarded her ruefully. "I must say, I'm glad we were right, though I had rather hoped that it wouldn't take this long, which really brings about the question: how did you find us out here?"

Jaina hesitated a moment. "Dumb luck," she finally said. "I had to rush a jump out of the Velmor system and didn't have time to calculate properly."

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck."

She turned to see Organa scrutinizing her; she held his gaze for a moment before dropping her eyes to the floor, considering. If anyone might recognize the signs of Force-sensitivity, it would be the foster father of Leia, and she briefly wondered if she looked enough like her mother to even make the thought cross his mind; and then realized that he probably thought that Leia died aboard the Death Star and that the sense of subtle bitterness she felt rolling off of him was probably because she _did_ look a bit like Leia, whom he thought to have been executed.

"Call it intuition then."

This was not going to be easy.

"Come now, Bail," Bylsivik seemed to have picked up on the brief tension between the two. "Luck or not, let's not antagonize the first person in two and a half decades who can get us out of this kriffing situation- pardon the language," he directed at Jaina, eyes twinkling.

"Surely you don't think I'd leave you here?" she asked wryly.

He shrugged. "I make no assumptions."

Gentyne stepped in. "I think Jaina is right; we should gather everyone to hear about what we've missed out on in the last lifetime and see what our options are…" he trailed off, looking questioningly at Jaina who understood.

"I'm en route to the Yavin system," she volunteered. "There's a training academy there, you'll be able to get where you need to go, reconnect with anyone you need to from there." It wasn't a lie; she just didn't specify what _sort_ of training academy, and knew they would assume a military one. "And I have plenty of room to accommodate you all." It was a good thing she'd stumbled across the transport _after_ unloading her supplies on Velmor.

"We will forever be in your debt," Gentyne said very seriously. "Now come, let's collect the rest of them."

"Actually," Jaina broke in, "I should send a quick message to Yavin…"

"Of course; Montif, why don't you escort Jaina back to her ship? Perhaps she'll even let you see the inside this time; he was a fiend for anything that flew twenty-five years ago," he said aside to Jaina. "I can't imagine how long it'll take him to catch up now."

And so Jaina found herself chatting about old technology and how spacecraft had evolved in the past two decades with a man who looked to be somewhere nearing fifty, but who had the giddy excitement in his eyes of a teenager as he entered the main galley. While he explored the finer workings of the state-of-the-art craft, Jaina powered up the computer and typed and encrypted a quick message to send to her uncle, assuring him that all was well but she would be arriving a few hours later than expected.

She paused, unsure what else to say; it seemed a little too complicated to explain what had happened in a hastily typed-out message from her datapad. She finally settled on something vague:

_Uncle Luke,_

_Don't worry, I'm not in any trouble; I will be arriving a few hours later than expected though. _

_I can't go into too many details- it's a bit complicated. But let's just say I found what I was looking for; and I'll be bringing a few people back to the academy with me. _

_Can you see if mom can come to Yavin IV? I've met someone who's an old friend of sorts._

_See you soon,_

_Jaina_

She plugged her datapad into the ship's computer and sent the message; if her calculations were correct, it was very late on the moon, so she didn't worry about awaiting a reply; unhooking her device, she left and sealed the cockpit, found Bylsivik, and headed back to the conference room where she'd first sat down with him and Gentyne.

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

Jaina grinned as any lingering suspicion was forgotten, at least temporarily, while the poor men aboard the transport- the _Nightgazer_, as she had learned it was called- enjoyed some different food than they'd had access to for nearly twenty-five years. Jaina had thought to grab some things from the _Shadow Chaser_'s stores, assuming that anything would be better than hydration tablets and minimal water supply, even _other_ forms of freeze-dried food. She was right.

They devoured the simple fare with gusto, taking long swigs from the hydrate-juice packs. As they finished eating, Jaina attempted to organize her thoughts about the vital points of history of the last quarter century, reminding herself that, to the average person, many of the things that had been important in _her_ life or her parents' weren't necessarily a big deal.

And then there was the issue of the Jedi; not only did she worry that it would frighten them that _she_ was a Jedi, considering that had been nearly extinct when they'd last had outside contact, but she was still trying to figure out how to break it to Bail Organa that, not only was his adopted daughter alive, but Jaina was _her _daughter. If she stopped the story to point out that she was on her way to the Jedi Academy and then had to explain the rise of the Jedi once more, this could only lead to a discussion of Luke- and if Organa knew that Leia had been born a twin…

That _did_ raise an interesting question that had occurred to her mother before; when Bail adopted her, did he know the full truth of her lineage? Leia knew that her father was a senator at the time of the Jedi Purge, but who knew if he'd personally known Anakin Skywalker? And whoever had arranged the adoption, had they told him that he was helping split apart Vader's twins so that one might live to be a Jedi if the other was discovered?

Maybe he knew who Luke and Leia's mother had been. That thought sent a jolt of excitement through Jaina, as the question had come up periodically through the years. She reminded herself to focus on the task at hand, however; the last thing she needed was to make some public spectacle of what would undoubtedly be an emotional scene when she _did_ broach the topic with him; perhaps she could take him aside quietly on the long flight to Yavin later.

"Ah," Gentyne drew Jaina out of her own thoughts and she followed his gaze to the door. "Khranir, Mahknim, please join us." Two noghri entered the room, bringing the final total to nine, including Jaina. "You've heard the good news, of course- this is Jaina, our unlooked for, but wholly welcome savior."

The noghri approached and Jaina inclined her head and held out an open palm- the customary greeting among the noghri which she had learned from being around Cakhmaim and Meewahl when on Coruscant; the open palm was a gesture of good faith that the greeter did not carry any hidden weapons and had no ill intentions.

The noghri in turn bowed their heads towards her palm and she sensed a calm indifference in their demeanor- and then saw their nostrils dilate and she froze, wondering how in the nine Corellian hells she could have been so stupid.

She'd not yet been born when her mother had gone to Honoghr and persuaded the noghri to join the New Republic; but she'd heard the stories and knew that her mother gained their trust by proving herself to be the heir of Darth Vader- through her scent.

Which left two possibilities for this not turning into a bad situation for her; first, perhaps these particular noghri had never come into contact with Vader, wouldn't recognize his bloodline. Second, she had no idea how many generations the heritage could be identified; maybe as his granddaughter, the bloodline would be diluted enough to avoid detection and the sudden proclamation of her as 'Lady Vader' as the noghri called her mother on Honoghr.

The noghri straightened and she saw their eyes flicker between one another and knew that they knew- so she acted.

"Mahknim," she said kindly, "you bear the signs of the Eik'mir clan, do you not?" Simultaneously, she attempted to gently nudge their minds- a dangerous thing to do with trained assassins, but if they had recognized her as the descendent of their lord, she saw little chance of repercussion.

"Yes, my lady," he answered in his gravelly voice. "My lady is familiar with the noghri?"

She smiled. "Only a few of them, but one is of your clan and is a most honorable being."

Both nodded their gratitude of her courteous behavior and backed away to stand in the shadows near the door, and Jaina knew she had succeeded in dissuading them from acknowledging recognizing her in any way. She let out a soft breath- and noticed the interested looks of the six men in the room.

How many teenage girls in the galaxy were familiar with the customs of the noghri, let alone knew any personally? After all, twenty-five years ago, they were Darth Vader's personal assassins and commandos.

"So," she cleared her throat and changed the topic, "you all probably want to know what you've missed in the last couple of decades…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** All recognizable material is most unfortunately, not mine to be making money off of. ;-P

**A/N**: Glad you're enjoying and still reading!

**Chapter 4**

"I suppose the most important thing is that the Emperor and Vader have both been dead for twenty years."

The relief in the air was palpable. "How?" a man named Hyperan voiced the question that was on all of their minds.

"The Death Star blew up with them both aboard- well, the second Death Star."

"Second?" Bylsivik asked, aghast. "They built _two_ of those monstrosities."

Jaina winced. "Yeah- the Rebellion blew up the first one, not long after you landed in your predicament here actually; the second one was only partially complete when it was destroyed a few years later. That was pretty much the end of the cohesive Empire as you knew it."

"You're saying the Rebellion won then?" Organa asked, eyes fixed sharply on Jaina.

"Pretty definitively," she nodded. "I mean, there was still fighting for a long time, but the Rebellion took over Coruscant and established the New Republic, and the Empire gradually lost territory until the two signed a treaty about… oh, five years ago."

A few of those present seemed mildly disconcerted by this news, but Jaina supposed it was to be expected; most of them knew nothing _but_ the tyranny of the Galactic Empire under Palpatine. "What remains then today, of the Empire?" a stern-looking man named Placine, formerly a warrant officer, Jaina thought, asked.

"The Remnant is small," Jaina admitted. "The capital is at Bastion, and the territory only extends as far core-ward as Yaga Minor or so. But," she directed towards Gentyne, "your old friend, Pellaeon, is in charge."

His brows shot up. "Indeed? How so?"

"He's Grand Admiral of the fleet and head-of-state. He's actually done a lot of the peacemaking since he rose to a position of high enough authority in the last… ten years maybe."

The former officers seemed to ponder this for a minute and spoke in low tones amongst themselves, but Organa was still intent on Jaina. "And the Republic? Who is in charge?"

"Right now, a Bothan named Borsk Fey'lya." She failed to mention that he took that job from Leia. "Though the first chief-of-state, for many years, was Mon Mothma of Chandrila." She thought she detected something of a glimmer of pride in Organa's countenance. The two had practically run the Rebellion, after all.

"And you," Organa looked pointedly, "you live within the Republic?"

Jaina blinked, uneasy; of the people here, irony would have it that her grandfather was the most untrusting and suspicious of her. She couldn't help but feel she was being interrogated. "I do; I was born on Coruscant, nine years after you disappeared."

"A bit young to be traversing the galaxy by yourself, aren't you?"

She could tell that their tense exchange was noticed by the others. "I'm an extremely capable pilot," she said a bit defensively. "And it was a simple delivery run of medical supplies."

"You are a messenger then? Or a student at this training academy on the Yavin moon?"

"In this case, both," she replied tersely as the old man's eyes narrowed.

He sat back and considered her a moment. "I've been to Yavin," he finally said. "In my experience, the whole system was a backwater sort of a place."

"And thus an ideal setting for a hidden Rebel base?" she asked wryly.

His eyes flashed but his voice was calm. "Yes," he leaned in closely so that only she could hear him fully. "And consequently a bit distant and obscure to be of much use to a Coruscant-based government. For a training academy, that is."

She tensed and wondered how he'd seen so easily through her half-truth; then again, he had been a politician for decades. Her response was spared, however, by Captain Gentyne.

"I think," he said quietly but firmly, "that if it is agreeable to Jaina, we should gather anything worth keeping and prepare to depart our twenty-five year prison?"

"Of course," she said quickly. "Please, don't let me delay you; bring anything you need to the hangar and I'll meet you there."

A chorus of acknowledgements met her and they all stood and left, except the noghri, who eyed Jaina with their piercing gazes from the same corner where they had stood the entire time. "Khranir, Mahknim," she greeted them once more, and they approached, stooping to bow low to her.

"No, please," she pleaded, raising a hand to stop them. "I know you've been able to tell that Vader's blood runs in my veins, but he is not a part of me; at least, not as you knew him. Please," she repeated, "treat me no different than you would any other stranger."

"Lady Vader," Khranir said in his soft voice, "our ways declare that we must honor your heritage, and it is our duty to serve and protect you, should need arise. However," he glanced sideways at his companion, "we are also discreet; if you wish it, we shall remain watchful, but silent, unless you command our services."

Relief flooded her and she let out a breath. "Thank you," she replied sincerely. "Khranir, Mahknim, I appreciate it."

"As we are indebted to you, Lady…?"

"Solo. My name is Jaina Solo."

As she left the room, she felt a chill and turned; there was no one there, and she thought she must have imagined the sensation of someone watching her.

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

The air of excitement and anticipation was stronger than ever as Jaina maneuvered the _Shadow Chaser_ from the hangar and out into open space. She calculated the coordinates herself, since Artoo was still closed up in the cargo hold, and Bylsivik watched eagerly over her shoulder as she did everything, intrigued by the new systems.

Once the ship entered hyperspace, Jaina turned to Bylsivik. "It will just about twelve hours before we need to revert, but can I trust you to keep watch in case there are any problems?" She grinned and his lips quirked. "It's quite late on Yavin and a girl has gotta get her sleep." To make her point, she yawned exaggeratedly.

"Your ship is in good hands, milady," he mock bowed and took up her seat.

In truth, she wasn't really very tired; the excitement of the day had certainly kept her alert, and the Force could more than help make up for any rest her body lacked. What she really wanted though was to meditate and relax before confronting Organa, who she could feel watching her leave the cockpit. His suspicion made her nervous, put her on edge, though she saw no real reason for it; in half a day, they would be on Yavin and she would have Luke's help in handling everything.

There were four cabins in the ship- the larger, single-bunk room intended for the pilot and possibly a co-pilot, and three smaller, more sparsely furnished quarters that held two bunks each. Jaina was, of course, already set up for her short journey in the main cabin, and the noghri had taken over another one; the six men would, therefore, share the other two rooms should they feel the need to sleep or simply lay down and relax. Confident that her eight passengers could occupy themselves for a few hours, Jaina slipped into her private space and let out a deep breath.

Laying down, she closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift away as she drew the Force into herself…

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

Something was wrong.

Her eyes shot open and she checked her chrono; she must have fallen asleep, it had been three hours since she left Bylsivik in charge. An ominous tingle trickled down her spine and she stretched out in the Force, and bit back a gasp at the emotions flooding the ship.

There was a sense of nervousness, first and foremost, and more than a little anger and fear. Jaina leapt up and hurried out of the room and to the cockpit- and sidestepped quickly as instinct took over and she felt someone reach for her. She turned quickly and backed up, only succeeding in putting herself in the corner near the pilot's chair. Her mind went into emergency mode, taking note of her surroundings.

Most obvious was the fact that two of the three remaining crew members- Placine and Golasti- were standing in such a way that kept her trapped in the corner, while the third sat at the navigation computer. Second was the fact that Bylsivik, Gentyne, and the noghri were gone. Third was the fact that Organa had reappeared in the doorway, watching the encounter with a cool indifference in his sharp eyes, set deep in a wrinkled, old face.

Fourth- and perhaps most importantly- was the fact that the ship had dropped out of hyperspace. Several hours too early.

"Where is Lieutenant Bylsivik?" Jaina asked, voice hard but calm.

"He has been detained," Golasti responded, his tone icy. "You need not fear for his safety; nor for your own." Jaina read a hidden _if you cooperate_ but did not comment. Despite everything, she read no intention of harming her. "We have analyzed the situation, however, and see fit to alter our plans."

Her eyebrow quirked upwards in wry confusion. "Sounds like a bold plan for men in outdated Imperial uniforms in a galaxy they haven't been a part of in a quarter century."

"True," Golasti responded. "But for those of us who have waited that time, we'd rather be masters of our own fate now that we have the means, than trust it so someone we know nothing about. And so," he glanced at Hyperan at the nav computer, "we will go to Bastion."

"To Bastion?"

"The only person we can trust to understand our situation and help us recover our lost lives is Admiral Pellaeon; we will go to Bastion," he repeated.

"You could have just asked," she said dully.

Golasti glanced towards Organa. "There was some question as to how… forthcoming… you've been about where we're headed- and what we might expect to find when we get there."

She almost laughed aloud at the sheer ridiculousness of the thing. "So you're mutinying against me, is what you're saying?" She held Organa's gaze as she asked it.

"Once we are in contact with the admiral and can remove ourselves from your ship, you will be free to return to your academy."

Jaina was on the verge of replying when another sharp voice cut through the air. "Gentlemen!" She turned and saw Gentyne enter the cabin, radiating confusion and poorly-masked anger. The two standing crewmen moved aside, looking slightly guilty. Organa took up a seat opposite where Jaina stood and observed her carefully. "Explain yourselves!" Before anyone could answer, Golasti reached for the control board and pulled a lever; the stars streaked into lines as the ship re-entered hyperspace. A wave of fury, laced with confusion, rolled off of him. "Where is Montif?"

"Detained," Jaina said quietly. "As I suspect I am about to be."

"May I ask why?" his voice was of a deadly calm.

"Due respect, captain," Placine murmured lowly, "but a number of things in the girl's story do not add up; we would prefer to take matters into our own hands. We have set course for Bastion, where we will be able to contact Pellaeon."

Gentyne opened his mouth to reply, but Jaina cut him off. "Please, captain," she said. "If it is to Bastion you wish to go, I see no problem. Now," her tone was firm and calm, "if you wish me to stay out of your way, I would be happy to join the lieutenant in his exile."

Gentyne sounded outraged. "Now, I hardly think that's necessary…"

"No," Bail spoke for the first time, and his voice was harsh. "She will stay in the in the cargo hold, as will Montif if he continues to protest. It is a nineteen hour jump to Bastion and then this will all be over and," he paused, glancing at her, "_Jaina_ may be on her own way."

"Bail!" Gentyne was aghast, but again, Jaina stopped his protest.

"Captain, _please_. You've been trapped for twenty-five years, I shall not begrudge you a few hours injustice. If you'll walk with me, you can personally see that myself and the lieutenant are provided for…"

And just like that, Jaina walked quickly from the cockpit, Gentyne trailing in her wake. She was surprised to see the noghri hidden just out of sight, and they eyed her questioningly; she shook her head slightly and gave a reassuring smile. They looked perturbed but did nothing as Jaina walked towards the aft of the ship.

"Captain, I assure you that your crews' fears, whatever they are, are unfounded; nevertheless, it is not worth the schism and the potential violence for this conflict to continue. I would prefer that you not fight with Golasti, lest he lock you back here too and, quite frankly, I'd rather trust this ship in your hands than theirs; it doesn't belong to me."

He nodded reluctantly and she depressed the lock on the hold. The door slid open and they saw Bylsivik, sitting and brooding against the far wall. He jumped up and started talking quickly and relatively incoherently before Jaina held up a hand.

"I have agreed to be your companion for the flight," she told him wryly. Bylsivik looked further angered, and Gentyne wrung his hands in consternation.

"I am terribly sorry about this," he said. "I don't know what it is that they've gotten in their heads about you…"

"I have a hunch," Jaina admitted softly. "And I won't say that I can blame them for being concerned; but know, captain, that I have not intended you any harm."

He smiled back. "I never thought you did, my dear. I should go now, but I'll check back every few hours at least…"

And he left. Jaina turned to Bylsivik and shrugged helplessly. "Just out of curiosity," she asked slowly, "what was it that started this whole mess?"

He frowned. "Honestly, I can't be sure. Bail asked if I could access the ship's registration in the computer; I assumed he was interested in the model, or where it was constructed, perhaps, and I saw no reason not to do it," he smiled apologetically and she waved him off, but her thoughts were racing and her heart plummeting. "After he looked at it, he left and came back some time later with the others."

The registration; make, model… ownership. _History_ of ownership. The _Shadow Chaser _had been possessed only twice.

Once by the Shadow Academy. And currently by Luke Skywalker.

**A/N: **So yeah, I don't know if it's just my account being screwy or the whole site going wonky, but after the last two chapters I've posted, I go through a several-hour period where I can't log in… very bizarre. So my apologies if I get delayed on updates, but hopefully the issue is resolved.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Recognizable things, sadly, are not of my creation. :-(

**A/N: **Glad to see so many readers seem to be keeping up (based on my story stats anyway)… a big thanks to **Jedi Master Misty Sman-Esay** for faithful reviewing. ;-)

**Chapter 5**

So Bail Organa thought… what exactly? That she was a student of a place called 'Shadow Academy'? That seemed likely, given that her ship was the _Shadow Chaser_. Or perhaps that she merely worked for them? Or- and this would be the ultimate irony…

Did he think she was the daughter of Luke Skywalker?

He had been adamant that she be detained, not just stay out of their way, for the nineteen hour jump. If he thought she had any powers in the Force, surely he'd prefer that she be stunned or something, right? Or perhaps he thought she was Force-sensitive, but untrained…?

Abandoning the what-ifs, she sat back and closed her eyes, focusing on every technique she'd ever been taught by Luke and Tionne about reaching out in the Force, connecting with someone particular… or in this case, two persons.

Normally it was Jacen she was reaching out to, just out of years of having a constant bond that ran deeper than any other relationship either had. Now though, she focused on feeling her mother and uncle in the Force and relaying some important information- or at least, some vague ideas that she hoped they could interpret.

The first was that her trip had hit a little snag; the second, that she wouldn't be home for supper after all.

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

Leia's transponder beeped; she pulled it from her belt and checked the code and smiled; it was Luke.

"Still awfully early on Yavin, isn't it?"

"Yes," his tone was serious. "Leia, have you heard from Jaina?"

She frowned. "No, but I… it's odd you should ask because I was going to call you soon to ask about her as well."

"I received an extremely odd message from her a few hours ago, and Jacen said he woke up and thought that she felt startled, or excited even…"

By now, Han had appeared and sat beside her, listening to the conversation. "I did too," she acknowledged. "Probably at the same time… what did her message say?"

There was a brief pause and then he recited: "Uncle Luke, don't worry, I'm not in any trouble; I will be arriving a few hours later than expected though. I can't go into too many details- it's a bit complicated. But let's just say I found what I was looking for; and I'll be bringing a few people back to the academy with me. Can you see if mom can come to Yavin IV? I've met someone who's an old friend of sorts. See you soon, Jaina."

Han grabbed the comlink. "An old friend, huh?" He paused. "I don't know that I'd worry too much, kid. If she's on Velmor…"

"That's the problem, Han," Luke very uncharacteristically interrupted. "She had already left. About an hour before that message came in, she commed me as she was heading off-planet. By the time I received the second message, she should have been in hyperspace and out of communication for twelve hours."

"Maybe she had to turn around and go back?" Han suggested, voice growing more and more worried.

Luke sighed. "Thought of that and contacted Cilghal. She's as certain as she can be that Jaina left and did not return."

There was really only one thing to do. "We'll be there in fifteen hours," Leia said, standing and already moving towards collecting a few things for the trip. "She wants me to come to the Academy anyway, we may as well not delay any… oh!"

Han was suddenly at her side while she leaned against a wall, hand raised to her head. "What?" he demanded. "Jaina? Is she alright?"

"She's fine, but she's… oh. Luke?" she queried shakily.

"Yeah."

"Why would she be going to…?"

"I have no idea. I'll be on my way within an hour. Should I bring the boys?"

"I doubt Jacen would let you leave without him, might as well. We'll see you tomorrow." She shut the comlink off and rushed about the apartment, stuffing a travel bag with the bare essentials for a few-day trip.

Han followed her around, impatiently awaiting an explanation. "On _his_ way? What's tomorrow? I thought we were headed to Yavin?"

Leia looked up at him. "Change of plans," she said quietly. "Jaina's not going to Yavin."

"_Not going to…_ Leia! Where's she going?"

"Bastion."

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

"So," Bylsivik interrupted her reflective reverie, "you said you had a hunch as to what this was all about?" He frowned, making his usually cheerful, aged face look much more severe.

Jaina grimaced. What a stupid thing for her to say to Gentyne. "It's… complicated," she said hesitantly. "What I _think_ it comes down to is that the former Viceroy here thinks that I've been hiding something."

"Have you?"

"Yes."

That certainly made him look up in surprise. "Nothing bad, per say," she stressed. "It's just… there are some things that a fifteen-year-old girl doesn't spring suddenly on a ninety-some-year-old man who has been lost in deep space and believed dead for twenty-five years. Some things that I wanted to wait until we were closer to civilization before telling him."

"Guess that one sort of backfired on you, didn't it?" His tone was skeptical.

She shrugged and leaned back against the panel that hid Artoo. "I've been in tougher spots."

"You know," he observed her, "you are awfully cavalier about this whole thing for someone as young as you are."

"When it gets down to it," she sighed and closed her eyes, "I really have nothing to worry about, save being late getting home. No one here actually wants to hurt me."

His eyebrows shot up. "How do you know that?" he demanded. "_I_ don't even know that!"

"The eight of you aboard this ship just want a life back. And those men who stuck us in here are terrified that, now that it's so close, something might take it away. They want some control, to be able to know that, should something go wrong now, it wasn't because they trusted blindly in someone they'd met an hour before getting on her ship. And then you have Bail Organa who is jaded and bitter, and thinks he has no life to return to, and his own anger towards those who got him into this mess, and probably towards himself for surviving this long, manifests itself in the suspicion of _me._"

"You don't strike me as wholly suspicious," he said wryly.

She snorted. "Anyone just happening across another ship in the middle of a hyperspace jump is suspicious. The chances are astronomical- no pun intended."

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

"You have an astounding ability to fall asleep anywhere." Jaina looked up as Bylsivik rolled sideways and into a sitting position, wincing at the stiffness in his back. "I'm really too old for this."

She didn't bother mentioning that she wasn't really sleeping when, every few hours, she would close her eyes and remain perfectly still for a half hour or hour at a time. It was more of a Force-induced relaxation trance.

"So we must be nearly there; you going to tell _me_ at least what it is that you don't want to scare Bail with?"

Jaina smiled sadly. "He thinks he has no life to return to."

"He doesn't. It was before your time of course, but his wife died five years before his planet was destroyed by a man holding his daughter hostage and ready to execute her. And if he didn't kill her, you said yourself that the station was destroyed soon after Alderaan was."

"It was destroyed because Leia Organa escaped the Death Star and delivered the plans for the station to the Rebel Alliance, who found a weakness and used it."

He was slack-jawed for a minute. "Then she is alive still?"

"She spent nearly a decade as the chief-of-state of the New Republic."

There were several seconds of silence. "Will you tell him?"

"Oh," she replied sardonically, "one way or another he'll find out; but I _do_ think it would be a good idea that he knew prior to docking anywhere."

"Why?"

She sighed. "Again- a long story. One pertaining to how I found you; how I know the noghri; why I'm a student at a training academy that's nowhere near anything important."

"I thought you found us by pure chance, dumb luck."

"Bail Organa had enough experience early in life to discount the notion of luck; he spent too much time around the Jedi."

"I was a very small boy when the Jedi were wiped out," Bylsivik frowned at her. "They've been extinct for decades."

Jaina smiled mischievously. "That's your twenty-five-year younger self talking," she pointed out. "In twenty-five years, the galaxy has changed and rebuilt itself, and a new order of Jedi have arisen in the wake of the Emperor's death, all under the oversight and instruction of a Jedi master, Luke Skywalker."

"Skywalker… that name was…"

"Yes, this is his ship; or more appropriately, it belongs to the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV, after it was stolen from a defeated academy that only taught the 'dark side' of the Force- the Shadow Academy." A faint look of understanding was beginning to dawn on Bylsivik's face. "The problem, I _think_, is that, not only has the Viceroy guessed that I am, to some degree in tune with the Force, but he thinks that I am Luke Skywalker's daughter."

"Why is that a problem?"

Jaina smiled ruefully. "Because if I'm properly understanding his paranoia, Bail Organa knew Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father, when he was a Jedi; and subsequently, saw his fall and the rise of Darth Vader in his place. And he probably thinks that any other Skywalker is following in Vader's footsteps. Thus, the mistrust of me. He last knew a galaxy where the only Force-users were the Emperor and Vader."

To his credit, Bylsivik was doing a marvelous job of keeping up. "So because you found us, Bail thinks you're a Jedi… or its _dark_ equivalent," his tone was uncomfortable and wary. "But I still don't… why would he assume you're the child of… ah… ah. The noghri. They recognized your scent."

She nodded and then perked up. "We've dropped out of hyperspace." And then she turned and pressed a palm flat against the panel behind which Artoo hid; envisioning the locking mechanism opening, it sprang and the panel swung out. "Hey, Artoo," she said cheerfully, standing and reaching onto the higher shelf for something she had stored there earlier- a short-range transceiver. If she could send a quick message to the _Chimaera_- if Artoo could locate it in Imperial space- they might have _some_ warning of the odd situation…

And then a tingle ran down her spine. "Brace!" she yelled, and seconds later, the ship rocked.

Or maybe they were just planning on disabling the ship in the air.

"Artoo, here," she plugged the transceiver into his socket and he began scanning local frequencies. "Can you find the _Chimaera_?" The ship jolted again and she cursed. "Never mind, send it to…" he interrupted. "You found what? Where? Okay…" she typed out a quick message and waited for the signals to align. "He'll get it where it needs to go. Now…" the ship rocked again. "Change of plans- c'mon, Artoo."

She approached the sliding door of the hold and pressed her hand against it as she had done to the hidden storage compartment. "Wait," Bylsivik stood and picked up a hydrospanner that had tumbled from a shelf. "You didn't tell me; _are _you Luke Skywalker's daughter then?"

"Of course not," she murmured, eyes closed as she again envisioned the unlocking of the door. A click sounded and it slid sideways. She stepped out in the hallway and turned. "I'm his niece."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Still doesn't belong to me. *tear*

**Chapter 6**

Jaina left Bylsivik standing there confused, and hurried towards the cockpit, almost falling over but for the Force as the ship jumped again. Heated voices could be heard from the cockpit.

"… go and bring her…"

"I don't think that's…"

"This was _your_ doing, Golasti, and if anyone can fix it now, it'll be the pilot of this vessel you've so rudely hijacked!"

They were all too surprised to react much when Jaina entered the cockpit. "Right you are, captain, so if you wouldn't mind…?" She stiffened. "Don't do it, Golasti."

"How did you…?" His hand continued automatically towards the antiquated blaster that sat on the arm of his chair; Jaina made a fast motion with her hand and it clattered to the deck, though his uncertainty made it clear that Golasti half-thought she did it and half-thought that it fell of its own accord as the ship shook again.

"Captain?" Jaina prompted softly.

Gentyne wordlessly slid out of the pilot's seat after unbuckling his crash-webbing. Hyperan, acting as co-pilot, winced as the cabin shook with another blast from an ion cannon; Jaina caught Gentyne with the Force as he nearly crashed into the control deck and smoothly slid herself into the seat in his place, ignoring the webbing and yelling back for the droid. "Artoo, come and plug yourself in over here and see if you can't raise the _Chimaera_; in the meantime, _you_," she pointed harshly at Hyperan while she simultaneously went into a dive to avoid another ion blast, "get me Imperial Space Defense back on the comm and _someone_ please tell me what exactly you thought would happen when you dropped out of hyperspace on top of the Imperial capital in a ship that wasn't yours and without any authorization codes?"

A semi-guilty sentiment spread through the cabin as Gentyne finally managed to secure himself into one of the passenger seats behind the co-pilot's chair.

"I have Defense for you," Hyperan said, sparing any of them further interrogation for the moment. Jaina leaned over the speaker and spoke quickly.

"Imperial Defense, this is the _Shadow Chaser_, please acknowledge."

Static crackled for a moment before a stern-sounding woman replied. "_Shadow Chaser_, we have indication that you are flying a stolen vehicle…" Her voice was weary and Jaina imagined that she had just been through this with Golasti or Gentyne.

"_Not _stolen," Jaina broke in, "just mismanaged."

"Be that as it may," the stuffy voice came back, "without the proper authentication and authorization…"

Jaina sighed heavily. "New Republic diplomatic code gamma-alpha-eight-five-six-two-four-theta; this is Jaina Solo and I would _really_ appreciate it if you would stop trying to cripple my uncle's ship and let me land in a hangar of your choosing of my own volition!" She almost felt bad using that particular code; it was the highest level allowed by family members of diplomats and other state leaders and basically signaled 'this is my business, don't ask questions.'

There was a long silence, made even quieter by the sudden cessation of ion-cannon fire. "Acknowledged, Miss Solo, and our apologies," she was suddenly very brisk and polite. "Please follow the homing signal being broadcast to you from the _Ironhand_…" There was another lengthy pause and, if not for the static, Jaina would have thought she disconnected. "Belay that order, Miss Solo; you can follow the new beacon to the _Chimaera_. Please stand by for a further transmission."

The ensuing quiet aboard the ship was broken by a low whistle from Bylsivik, who stood unsteadily in the doorway of the cockpit. "Nice flying," he said shakily. The noghri also appeared behind him, eyes sharp and bright as they took in the situation.

The comm buzzed; Jaina pressed a button and the visage of Grand Admiral Pellaeon himself appeared on the screen. "Jaina Solo," he chuckled, "you certainly do have the galaxy in an uproar, don't you?"

Her voice was low but amused. "I think you know my family well enough by now that this doesn't greatly surprise you, Admiral."

"A valid point; let me express my apologies; command is horrified that they nearly began a galactic incident and half-expect New Republic starships to be bearing down any moment." His tone was mischievous and his face showed he was not concerned.

"No harm done, Admiral. My fault as much as anyone's, but that conversation can wait until we land; is my uncle with you?"

His voice wavered once. "He is, as are your brothers; he passed along your message. It's true? The _Nightgazer_…?" Jaina summoned Gentyne forward and he leaned within range of the holocam. "Lowell!" Pellaeon's face broke into a remarkably uncharacteristic grin. "I can't even… the guilt I felt…"

"Please, Gilad," Gentyne smiled. "This is a big day for us, and not one of regret. And Gilad," he looked at him earnestly, "we _did_ succeed in our mission."

Pellaeon's eyes widened in surprise; he shot a look back at Jaina, who shook her head almost imperceptibly . He looked back at Gentyne. "I'm relieved to hear it. Is Bail…?"

"I'm here, Gilad," Organa's voice drifted oddly from the back of the cockpit. Jaina half-turned and saw he was eyeing Artoo strangely and seemed only vaguely aware of anything else that was transpiring.

Pellaeon's voice sounded choked. "It's an honor hearing your voice again."

"Admiral," Jaina cut back in. "How long until the _Falcon _arrives?" She didn't even need to ask if her parents were en route; if Luke was already here, her parents couldn't be far behind.

Pellaeon leaned away from the image for a moment, and Jaina suspected he was conferring with Luke. "Four hours at least."

"Okay…" she thought a moment. "There are some things that must be discussed before then," her look was pointed and he certainly comprehended her meaning.

"Understood, Jaina. I'll be waiting at the hangar when you arrive."

A tentative sense of relief spread through Jaina. Perhaps she wouldn't have to do this on her own; Organa and Pellaeon clearly respected and trusted each other.

The relief was short-lived. While the five men of the Imperial crew were eyeing her in various stages of confusion, awe, and nervousness, Organa had a deep, reflective, calm look that suggested that he was putting together pieces of an elaborate puzzle- the puzzle being _her_, Jaina thought wryly.

Gentyne broke the silence. "A diplomatic security clearance?" he asked, impressed. "Don't tell me that we've kidnapped the daughter of some prominent senator." He smiled but Jaina could tell that he was more than a little serious.

"No," she said slowly, feeling his relief. She winced. "A former chief-of-state." The relief vanished quickly. Out of the corner of her eye, she was vaguely aware of Hyperan navigating the ship into the indicated docking bay of the _Chimaera_.

"Good lord, after finally being free, we'll all be executed," Hyperan muttered faintly.

Jaina laughed. "I promise you won't."

"Chief-of-State Solo…" Placine said in his usual serious tone. "Not a bad sound to it. Your mother or father?"

Organa looked up at her sharply and she knew that he had guessed everything. "You know," she said quietly, "don't you?"

"She lived."

"Yes. I'm sorry; I didn't know how to tell you. And then…" she shrugged helplessly.

"I've been quite the fool, haven't I?"

She laughed but it stuck in her throat, emerging as a gasping half-sob.

Clearly uncomfortable at whatever confusing exchange was taking place, Hyperan quietly pointed out that the hangar pressure had stabilized. "Start the shutdown sequence, Artoo," Jaina commanded, eyes never leaving the old man who looked suddenly more alive than since the moment Jaina saw him. "Open the hatch."

"Come here, child," Organa stood shakily and Jaina approached him slowly, both seeming to have forgotten the rest of the crew present. "I thought my grief was imagining it…" his voice was wondrous as he truly studied her face. "But from the moment I saw you, you reminded me of Leia. The resemblance is greater to your grandmother, however."

It was unclear how much time passed; she had a vague recollection of Gentyne quietly prodding the rest away from the personal scene, but beyond that, it was a blur as she stood, crying and hugging the man believed dead for so long, a man who had believed for twenty-five years that his daughter was dead and now found himself with- unbeknownst to him yet- three grandchildren who had never imagined having a grandparent.

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

"Lowell Gentyne, you son of a bantha!" Formalities were forgotten and trampled as the two old friends embraced, never mind that one was now the head-of-state and the military commander. "Montif," he smiled and the two shook hands. "I'm afraid I never met the rest of your long-time companions here…"

Gentyne introduced the other three men and the noghri, and then Pellaeon frowned. "But where is Bail? And Jaina?"

"Er…" Gentyne shrugged. "We were about to arrive and after hours of Bail adamantly declaring that she wasn't to be trusted, they suddenly started crying, and hugging…"

"Ah," Pellaeon said brusquely. "Understandable."

Gentyne looked skeptical. "It is?"

"Absolutely. Look," he lowered his voice slightly so only Gentyne and Bylsivik could hear him. "You'll know all of this soon enough anyway; the Solos and Skywalkers are the most famous people in the galaxy. I assume Bail didn't want to trust her because he could ascertain that she is a Jedi, and if he saw the name Skywalker in the ship's logs, he likely worried that she had a connection to Darth Vader- and she does. She is his granddaughter. _However_," he interrupted the shocked exclamation from Gentyne, "assuming that his own daughter was dead, he never would have dreamed that Jaina was not the child of Skywalker, but of Leia Organa." Some of this he had gathered from her hastily-written message relayed through Luke; some, just because he was the sharpest strategist and analyst in the Empire.

"I still don't understand," Bylsivik frowned, this making no more sense than when Jaina had explained parts of it.

Pellaeon shrugged. "Leia and her twin Luke were the children of Vader, and were split up as infants to protect them from Vader and the Emperor. Bail adopted Leia. So yes, Jaina is the granddaughter of Darth Vader- but she is _also_ Bail's granddaughter, and I think he's finally figured that out."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: still not mine. ;-)

**Chapter 7**

After giving the newcomers time to freshen up, Pellaeon arranged for his second-in-command to take over the training exercise and had his aide set up guest quarters in the Imperial Palace for everyone. Within an hour, they were shuttling down to the planet's surface; Luke and Anakin also took the shuttle from the Academy and Jacen joined Jaina- and their unexpectedly acquired grandfather- in the _Shadow Chaser_.

"So," Jaina began as she navigated out of the hangar, "just out of curiosity- what finally made you realize?"

Organa sat back and smiled, and the change over his face was astounding from the harsh, bitter presence he had been before. "I think," he replied slowly, "that it was a combination of you yelling about them shooting at your _uncle_'s ship, and seeing Artoo-Deetoo here." Artoo gave a little pleased trill at being remembered. "Of course, it was wholly conceivable that there is another Artoo unit somewhere with the same design and markings, but unlikely, given how old this droid is. And I had my suspicions when I saw the way the noghri interacted with you, but when I saw the name Skywalker in the ship's logs… I knew you had to be one somehow, and I panicked. But when you said Luke was your uncle…"

Jacen turned and smiled good-naturedly. "So let me get this straight- you orchestrated a mutiny against Jaina because you thought that she was… your great-niece instead of your granddaughter?"

Jaina smacked his arm. "It doesn't work like that."

"No," Organa said solemnly. "It doesn't. I loved- love- your mother dearly, and she was my daughter within a few short hours of her birth; but after that day, I never saw her brother again, never knew what happened to him, whether Obi-wan had managed to keep him safe from Vader's clutches. Your mother was always my daughter, but Luke was the son of my enemy, the man who enabled Palpatine to finally bring down the Republic." He thought back for some time. "But based on what you've told me… Luke killed the emperor, didn't he?"

"Actually, Vader did."

"To take his place?"

"To save his son."

Organa was silent for a minute and Jacen spoke up again. "It's sort of a long story, maybe we should wait until we're on Bastion and let Uncle Luke tell it…"

"Oh, he doesn't tell it right. He dumbs down the part where he's a hero and makes it sound all 'the-Force-willed-it.'"

"True," Jacen sighed and turned around to look at his grandfather. "Basically, the droids- Artoo here, and Threepio- ended up in the hands of Luke's aunt and uncle on Tatooine, after mom sent them in the escape pod with the plans for the Death Star. Artoo wandered off though, looking for Obi-wan as instructed, and thereby leading Luke to him. Before Luke could make it back home though, the Imperials had tracked the droids to his family and killed them, and with nothing left for him on Tatooine, he agreed to take the droids and rescue the damsel in distress in Artoo's recording."

Jaina winced. "A less-than-subtle, but accurate telling," she concurred.

"They hitched a ride to the Alderaan system with a smuggler and his wookiee co-pilot. Obi-wan started giving Luke the basics in how-to-be-a-Jedi, and mid-flight… well, that's when Alderaan was destroyed," he said quietly. Organa just nodded and motioned him to proceed. "But the Death Star was still there and they were pulled onboard, hid in the smuggler compartments, and then snuck out to find mom and rescue her while Obi-wan disabled the tractor beam."

Jaina picked up. "And then after failed-attempts at stealth and an unfortunate trip down into a trash compactor, they somehow succeeded and reached the ship again. But Vader and Obi-wan dueled, and Obi-wan sacrificed himself so that they could escape with the plans."

Organa seemed saddened but signaled that they should continue.

"After that… well, Tarkin planted a tracking beacon on the _Falcon_ and they led him right to Yavin IV… but before they could get into range to destroy the moon, our uncle Luke managed to fire the shot that triggered the reaction that blew up the Death Star."

"Hm… the _Falcon_?" he asked, turning back towards Jaina who was approaching the palace hangar. "What's that? You mentioned it when talking to the admiral…"

"Oh- well, that's our dad's ship."

Making the connection faster than Jaina would have liked, Organa gave a long-suffering sigh. "Leia married a _smuggler_?"

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

"Sir," Pellaeon's comlink beeped. "You asked for notification when the _Millennium Falcon_ entered the system."

"Thank you, ensign."

He stood slowly and ran a hand over his brow. He was nervous; and Gilad Pellaeon was _never_ nervous. In truth, when he'd first met Leia Organa Solo, he'd had a difficult time not feeling guilty- not just for not saving her father, but also for the lives that the attempt had cost. And, of course, he would never tell her, would never drag up old wounds like that…

Why was nothing ever simple when it came to the Solo family?

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

Organa and Luke spoke quietly for a long time, and the older man was reminded of the quiet grace of Padmé Amidala, the spirit of Anakin Skywalker, and the selfless power of Obi-wan Kenobi. "I am sorry to hear of Master Yoda's passing," he said quietly. "Though the circumstances do not surprise me."

"You think he chose when to die?"

Organa considered. "Perhaps 'chose' is not the proper word, but I think it was a matter of acceptance; he was quite aggrieved when I last saw him, at his failure to bring down Palpatine, and he spent twenty years in a swamp waiting- for _you_. He needed to correct his failings and could only do so once he made sure there was another Jedi to carry on." He paused. "I'm sorry- I don't mean to make it sound like you were a tool, meant to accomplish his task."

"No," Luke waved off his apology, "I think you're right. He was unable to rest until he enabled another success where he failed, and that was me- even if I did not kill Vader or the Emperor, their deaths were a direct consequence of my rise as the last- or the first- Jedi and my decision to confront Vader."

"Leia named her youngest son Anakin." It was said casually but Luke detected the underlying question as he glanced towards the door that led to the attached quarters where his niece and nephews sat talking and bickering as siblings were wont to do.

"As much to face her own fears about her heritage, I think, as to honor the man who Anakin Skywalker once was- and the man he became again in his final moments."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"It must have been a tough burden to bear, Luke, from the moment you learned who you were, what you were meant to do… but I still can't help but be relieved that Leia lived in ignorance as long as she did."

"I didn't want to tell her… but she needed to know that, if I didn't come back, she was the next hope for the Rebellion- and the galaxy."

A quiet but sharp rap sounded on the door. Luke rose from his chair and strode over to slap the release panel next to the door. "Admiral," he acknowledged pleasantly.

"Master Skywalker, Bail," he inclined his head to each in turn. "I hope the accommodations are adequate." Bail just chuckled and Luke smiled, but sensed an odd and uncharacteristic anxiety emanating from Pellaeon. "The _Millennium Falcon_ has reverted and should be landing within the quarter hour." Well that answered that question. "I thought it might be best if your niece accompanied me to the docking bay so that we might explain as we escort them here, reduce your sister's expected shock…"

"I'm here," Jaina slipped out of the room where her brothers would be bunking for a day or two. "Let's go. Sir," she added quickly. His nervousness seemed to lessen as Pellaeon chuckled and stepped aside, allowing Jaina to precede him back out the door.

She trotted along behind him, short legs struggling with his fast and determined military pace. After a couple minutes of this, the man seemed to notice her plight and slowed a bit to speak with Jaina. "When your uncle arrived and informed me that you were incoming, I had to think for a moment; last I saw you, you were all of what? Ten years old?" He couldn't remember having encountered the Solo children on any of his subsequent visits to the New Republic; they'd been shipped off to the Jedi Academy already.

"About that, yes sir."

"Well, you've certainly grown into quite an accomplished Jedi- and pilot, from what I've been hearing," there was an edge of amusement to his voice.

She flushed a bit. "I'm really still just a student, Admiral; not even an apprentice yet and a _long_ way from being a full Jedi. _But_," she perked up, "I'll be old enough next year to apply to a fighter squadron."

"Your parents have consented to that?" Unless he was mistaken, most applicants who were still under eighteen needed additional approval from a guardian to serve the armed forces in any capacity in the New Republic, just as in the Empire.

Jaina shrugged. "They will. In my family, it's sort of expected that you do dangerous things; my parents and uncle were breaking out of the Death Star when they weren't much older than I am now."

He restrained himself from pointing out that their hectic early years probably would make them more inclined to see their children live some semblance of a longer childhood before becoming too embroiled in the real galaxy; then again, the Solo children were all Jedi trainees, and therefore _not_ normal children.

They only had a few minutes to wait when they reached the hangar, watching Han put the ship down with expert skill and waiting for him and Chewbacca to finish the power-down. By the time they emerged from the ship- Han and Leia in front, both looking as though they attempted to hide their anxiousness, and Chewbacca behind- Pellaeon and Jaina were striding forward to meet them. Her parents hugged her quickly and shook hands and exchanged the normal greetings with the admiral.

"You know, sweetie," Han said, "if you wanted to defect to the Remnant, you could have just told us."

Jaina rolled her eyes. "I'll remember that idea the next time you guys really steam me about something."

"Jaina, honey… what is this all about?" Leia looked closely at her daughter. "And where are Luke, Jacen, and Anakin?"

She exchanged a quick look with Pellaeon who stepped in. "They are waiting for us in a temporary apartment here in the palace; we will head there now, but on the way, there is something Jaina and I need to talk about to you in particular, Leia."

Leia's consternation deepened but she hid it well physically. "Let's move along then, shall we?"

"So…" Jaina winced as she tried to begin the tale from her perspective. "As Uncle Luke may have told you, I volunteered to go to Velmor because I had a strange sensation in the Force, like I'd forgotten something maybe. But when I got there, nothing called out to me, so I left, disappointed. And on my way out of the system, a band of pirates or something from Thisspias dropped out of hyperspace and jammed my hyperspace transponder. So I made a short jump, under a minute, just to put a few light years in between the _Shadow Chaser_ and the other ships and calculate a jump to Yavin.

"But when I reverted, I was right on top of another ship. It was old and looked pretty beaten up; I thought it was abandoned."

Han broke in. "And let me guess- you just had to investigate it?"

She grinned wryly. "In a manner of speaking; before I could jump again, I was caught in a tractor beam." Han made a strangled noise but said nothing, and Chewie growled low in his throat, earning a look from a passerby. "I didn't sense anything dangerous, and when I landed in the docking bay, I was greeted two older men, dressed in outdated Imperial Navy uniforms. Over the course of the next hour or so, I learned that the ship- an Imperial Transport called _Nightgazer_- had suffered damage to the hyperdrive motivator and the transponder system prior to its last hyperspace jump- and had been drifting in deep space for twenty-five years."

Leia looked skeptical. "Twenty-five years? That's an awfully long time to survive on space-rations and recycled air."

"Ah- but this ship was special, and designed to be self-sufficient for a long time. It was stocked and prepped to potentially be a hideout."

"For whom, might I ask?"

Jaina gave Pellaeon a meaningful glance and he smoothly took over the telling. "Leia, I can personally vouch for the truth of Jaina's story, as well as that of the men she met; I was the one who sent them on the mission that crippled the ship. Which is why the sudden decision to come to Bastion instead of Yavin," he added, almost apologetic. "But, Leia," he reached out and touched her arm lightly, signaling her to stop walking as they neared the apartment, "I need to tell you something that may be hard to hear."

"Oh- okay," she looked uncertainly between the grave faces of her daughter and the Imperial head-of-state, but learned nothing from their expressions.

"I don't know that you were aware, in your youth, but I had a long-standing and friendly relationship with your father."

Her eyes flickered momentarily. "You never mentioned it," she responded softly.

"Yes, I was assigned a judicial liaison post for the Senate early in my young, enlisted career and met your father then, during the Clone Wars and in the waning days of the Republic; we maintained sporadic contact over three decades, limited due to his… questionable loyalty status, in the eyes of the Empire.

"At the time of your imprisonment aboard the Death Star, I had a few reliable sources of information who were close to Tarkin. They expressed their suspicions about his intentions towards Alderaan."

Jaina winced at the flash of pain that came from her mother.

Pellaeon continued quickly but somberly. "I knew time was of the essence; I arranged to have a vessel outfitted specially in Kuat and for a friend of mine, Lowell Gentyne, to attempt to retrieve your father. I received word that they landed safely but, in the chaos of the evacuation spurred by the arrival of the space station in the system, it seemed that they were too late- that _I_ was too late. I never heard from them again." His gaze shifted from Leia to Jaina. "Until a few hours ago."

Leia's eyes darted between the two quickly, and Jaina could see she was looking pale and faint as she put together Jaina's story with Pellaeon's. "You can't possibly be telling me…" Jaina slipped away and opened the door of the apartment. "_No one_ could survive sitting in an old transport for a _quarter-century_!" Han reached for her arm, apparently as worried about her appearance as Jaina had been.

"The spirit of survival is a wondrous thing," a new, soft voice broke in. Leia let out a choked sob and turned, vision blurred through tears, but nothing would stop her from recognizing him, even after the effects of twenty-five years on the elderly face. Han's arm dropped and he stared, slack-jawed.

Jaina, who stood beside the old, beaming man, looked worried. "Mom, I thought you'd be happy…"

Leia half-laughed and half-cried as she covered the distance between them and drew father and daughter into a tight hug. For a long time, Leia stood with her father after Jaina extracted herself, and eventually, the group moved into the apartment, save Pellaeon who refused their entreaties, saying that this should be a family moment.

Once the initial shock and blind-emotion lessened, Organa retreated with his daughter to a balcony to sit and talk quietly, leaving Han, Luke, and the three children behind in the apartment. No one really seemed to know what to say.

Finally, Han broke the thoughtful silence. "I don't think anyone is examining this from _my_ perspective."

"What do you mean?" Luke asked, smiling indulgently.

"This is great for everyone- Leia has her dad back, the kids get to know a grandparent- all fine and good. But what about me? _I _get a father-in-law!"


	8. Epilogue

**Disclaimer**: Still not mine ;-)

**Epilogue**

"There's one thing we've always wondered about," Leia broke the comfortable silence as she sat with her brother and adoptive father on the balcony the next morning. "Jaina said that you told her she looks like her grandmother… who was she?"

"Of course," Organa's brows furrowed in consternation and Luke could tell he'd been expecting the question eventually. "A marvelous woman; a dear friend and colleague of mine in the Senate, though she first gained notoriety in the galaxy when she was elected queen of Naboo, a position she held for eight years while she was still very young."

"Padmé Amidala?" Leia guessed, a bit breathless.

Her father looked faintly surprised. "I thought the Emperor attempted to erase her thoroughly from the archives."

"He did, but could not erase her from Mon Mothma's fond recollections. She mentioned her occasionally, in the early days of the New Republic; she was a founding member of the resistance, wasn't she?"

"Yes, in its earliest forms before the takeover was fully enacted. It was difficult for her though; Palpatine had been the senator from Naboo while she was queen, and a trusted advisor. It was hard to see a mentor devolve into the monster that he became."

Luke looked thoughtful. "Bail… were they married?"

He shook his head sadly. "I don't know; Obi-wan speculated that it was possible. Your father had been assigned to protect her in the weeks before the Clone Wars erupted, and they grew close during that time, apparently… but if they ever made formal vows, they kept it absolutely secret in the ensuing years. All the more impressive a feat, when you consider both were in highly visible public positions."

"In those days, he would have been banished from the Jedi Order," Luke acknowledged.

"Not today?"

Luke grinned ruefully. "The Order is a little less- _strict_- than it once was. _I'm_ married, and my wife is a Jedi as well. The thing you have to understand, students aren't taken from their families before they're old enough to really remember them, not anymore. When I was attempting to rebuild a Jedi order, I did not have the capacity to handle children; most of my early students were full-grown adults already, with existing relationships, some married… I think it makes them stronger."

"The wisdom of the old Council was that it made Jedi more inclined to do foolish or selfish things- such as Anakin Skywalker did. That to truly serve the people, one had to sacrifice everything- thereby having nothing to lose." His tone was inquisitive, not censuring.

"I've always felt that leads to bitterness," Luke admitted. "I know little about my father… but I think he must have resented being told he could not have a relationship. In turn, this led to secrecy, deceit… eventually paranoia…" he shrugged. "I suppose time will be the true- and harshest- judge."

While he was speaking, Han slipped out onto the balcony with a tray of caf. He settled in a chair next to Leia. "So, what are we talking about?"he asked nonchalantly.

"Well," Organa smiled mischievously, "just contemplating the, what? Sixteen odd years I've missed out on terrorizing the man who dared touch my daughter."

Han sighed and glared at Luke. "Couldn't keep that one to yourself, could you?"

"Han!" Luke sounded aghast. "My duty is to Leia first!"

"Wrong, farmboy!" he adopted Mara's nickname. "You met me before you even knew you _had_ a sister. That has to count for something! Right? Anything?"

Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene. Scene.

Her eyes were closed, though that didn't matter; even if it they'd been open, she was blindfolded. A deep breath… she felt the Force flowing through her, heightening her awareness of her other senses as she adopted a defensive stance…

A quick three-part parry. She heard the stinging bolts fizzle out into nothingness as the energy blade absorbed them.

A quick two-step, another block. Her blade was an extension of herself, swung with a precision that maximized effectiveness and minimized physical exertion.

"That seems an odd way to practice sword technique. You _do_ realize that you're blindfolded, don't you?" The tone was gently teasing.

"I may not be able to see," Jaina said slowly as she circled the floating remote. "But you're the one about to get hit by a sting-bolt."

"How do you- ouch! Hey!"

She grinned and snapped her fingers. The remote stopped firing and drifted lazily into her outstretched palm. "The trick," she said, "is that the blindfold makes you stop thinking, stop being distracted by outside factors. It helps you ignore the bolts that are sent wide as distractions." She looked at him pointedly and he looked mildly sheepish. "How are you, Lieutenant?"

"Please," he held up a hand, "I'm finally resigned from my commission; just call me Montif. And I'm great; still adjusting to real gravity though," he grimaced. "I think time skewed the compensators on the ship eventually… I keep tripping."

"Maybe you're just getting old."

"Ouch."

Her mouth quirked at his faux-wounded expression. "So what brings you here to my humble training corner?" She was actually in the hangar, several meters away from the _Falcon_, where Han and Chewie had come to check on a few things before their planned departure the next day, ready to head back to Coruscant- with Bail Organa, of course.

"Just wanted to say goodbye."

She'd known that already, of course; even if she hadn't felt it as he approached, she'd already bid farewell to Golasti and Placine, who, apologizing profusely, came to thank her on their way to head off to Ord Mantell, where they had both grown up; she also learned that they were cousins. Also already departed were the two noghri, for whom Pellaeon had arranged transportation back to Honoghr to see if they could locate their clans once more. Jaina nearly had to order them away after they had begun talking about transferring their intended protective services to her.

Once Bylsivik was gone, that would only leave Hyperan and Gentyne. Last Jaina had heard, they were still trying to track any remaining family of Hyperan, but Gentyne's only living relative _before_ he'd disappeared was his father, who apparently had died some fifteen years ago. For the foreseeable future, he planned to remain on Bastion, in the Imperial Palace, at Pellaeon's request- and insistence.

But she was sorry to see Bylsivik leave- after all, he was the one who had resisted the others' attempt to take over the ship. "Where are you going?"

"Commenor; apparently my younger sister now lives there with her husband… and I seem to have a couple of nieces now, though they're probably your age at least by now." He sighed. "Anyway, they'll help me figure out where to go, what to do…. learn what I've missed."

"That's good to hear, Montif," she said, smiling sincerely. "Have a safe trip- no hijackings, alright?"

"The less-eventful, the better." For a minute, they stood looking at each other, an unlikely pair in the hangar under the shadow of the _Millennium Falcon_. "Take care of yourself, Jaina Solo," he finally said. "You're going to save the galaxy someday."

She laughed, but sensed that he was at least half-serious. "It was an honor meeting you," she held out her hand and he shook it warmly. "I hope our paths might cross again someday."

"Likewise." He stood there for another few moments, looking like he wanted to say something else before smiling, clasping her shoulder, and turning briskly to depart the hangar bay.

Golasti and Placine, and the noghri, when they weren't insisting on accompanying her to Yavin, had all thanked her profusely before departing her company. With Bylsivik though… it seemed almost as though he thought words were too fickle, couldn't even begin to express his gratitude verbally. And that was perfectly fine with Jaina; she could tell how he felt.

And not for the first time, watching these isolated men attempt to relocate family, find a way to forge a new life, Jaina was proud and happy to have her family by her side; parents and an uncle who would drop everything to fly to Bastion… brothers who bickered constantly but would give their lives for total strangers as fast as for their friends and family… and now a grandfather who, after twenty-five years believing his daughter to be dead, managed to dote on her as he had in a past life, despite his advanced age.

"Hey, Jaina," Anakin, already far taller than she, wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Did you hear? Mom and Uncle Luke's mom was queen of Naboo by the time she was fourteen."

Sometimes though, that family was a lot to live up to.

**Fin**

**A/N:**__Thanks for reading! I hope you all liked it, and would love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time- cheers!

*~Lexi~*


End file.
